


When Sara Met Jane

by Sumi



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-10 07:38:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11687049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sumi/pseuds/Sumi
Summary: “Pathfinder Ryder, I presume?” the woman asked in a gruff tone.Sara gave her a tired smile and tried to stop herself from staring too hard at the unknown, yet very attractive woman. “That's what they tell me.”  She pushed herself off the wall she leaned heavily on and stuck out a hand. “What do they call you?”“Back in the Milky Way they called me Commander Shepard but here it's just Jane Shepard.”





	When Sara Met Jane

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ironyman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ironyman/gifts).



The Kett were closing in on their position. Sara held her pistol in a tight grip, ready to dive out from the cover the mountain wall provided at any second. It was supposed to be a simple mission; destroy a Kett base, report back to the Resistance, and then head back to the Tempest for a much needed shower and rest. But, of course, nothing went as planned in Andromeda.

An unforeseen blast from one of the remaining Kett caused an avalanche, effectively trapping the Nomad in the cave with all of them in it. Sara reported back to the Tempest, telling Kallo that while she, Liam, and Jaal remained unhurt, they were stuck in this mountain. Add in an unexpected storm, and Sara got to experience cuddling for warmth with Liam and Jaal, and sharing the few food and water provisions that were in the Nomad.

Kallo said he would try to send help but the storm was not only affecting them down on the planet, but also the Tempest.Three days later, the snow trapping them inside finally dissipated enough to create an opportunity for escape. Also, it created an opportunity for the Kett, that were surely waiting outside, to strike. Sara motioned for Jaal and Liam to also take position. They left the Nomad parked a few yards away but Sara needed to make sure they took out those Kett. She knew the Nomad was a powerful vehicle but it could only take so much direct fire.

“Get ready,” Sara mouthed but seconds before the Kett were ready to close in, a large terrain vehicle literally crashed into them. The vehicle teetered dangerously from side to side and Sara expected it to fall over until it steadied itself suddenly. When out popped a woman of modest height and dark red hair, Sara could only speculate as to what the hell was going on.

“Ryder, you’re seeing this too, yeah?” Liam spoke up, brows knitted in concern. “It looks like an Initiative armored vehicle but Kallo never mentioned sending more Initiative help.”

Sara nodded. “Definitely has to be Initiative.”

“Does your Initiative not communicate with each other?” Jaal asks in what sounded like genuine curiosity to Sara.

“Unlikely when it comes to Tann.” She frowned instantly at the thought of Tann. The two disliked each other from the moment they met. He seemed disappointed that Alec had pushed her into the position of Pathfinder. Ironically, that was the one thing Tann and Sara agreed on.

“Pathfinder,” SAM sounded on their private communications channel, “you do frequently fail to inform Director Tann of your activities. He may have decide to retaliate by doing the same.”

“Thanks, SAM.”

“You're welcome, Pathfinder.”

At least SAM had picked up the human trait of politeness. SAM'S sense of humor and sense of comedic timing, however, still needed to be worked on. As did its attempts at sarcasm.

Sara turned her attention back to the commotion outside. The Kett pulled back, giving an opening for escape from inside their mountain prison.

“They won't stay back for long!” The unknown woman shouted. Now that she was closer, Sara could see her face. A huge scar ran from her cheek to chin along with a smaller one on her left brow. From the way the woman acted, it was clear she could handle herself on the battlefield

The movements reminded Sara of Alec Ryder and that meant the woman had to have some ties to the Alliance military. If not, it would be a huge coincidence. “Back into the Nomad,” Sara ordered, something she was starting to get more and more used too. She remained convinced that her father chose wrong, but she couldn’t go back.

Sara sprinted towards the Nomad, gunning it after Jaal and Liam jumped inside. The Nomad lurched, but Sara had put it through worser stunts than this. It could handle Sara’s intense, sporadic driving for the moment. “Brace yourselves. The path is small, so it’ll be a tight fit,” Sara warned.

“The Kett won’t be the thing to kill us. It’ll be Ryder’s terrible driving,” Liam thought fit to add after Sara’s warning to her companions.

Jaal cleared his throat. “Ryder, I am afraid I must agree with Liam. In my time on the Tempest I have noticed that you have rather questionable driving skills.”

She drove towards the entrance, accelerating the nomad the closer they got. It was practically in sight and Sara did not need this now when their lives were on the line. “Jaal, Kosta shut it or I will drive this up the side of a mountain after we get out of here.”

“Pathfinder, according to my memory database you have attempted to drive the Nomad in this manner a total of 34% of the time.”

“Not the time, SAM!” Sara shouted just before they barely made it through entrance and back outside. 

The Nomad came to a screeching stop and Sara jumped out, eager to help their surprise saviors in taking down the rest of the Kett. She was exhausted, hungry, and not to mention cold. Sara would be happy when they could finally get off Voeld and back to the safety and warmth of the Tempest. 

After the final Kett fell to the ground, Sara immediately dropped her arm. She heaved a sigh and glanced over at the unknown woman who stood only a few feet away. Sara wanted to ask her name but over their private channel SAM informed Sara that given the circumstances, now wouldn’t be an appropriate time.

“SAM, do you detect any other Kett nearby?” Sara moved back to the Nomad quickly. Jaal and Liam followed close behind at a similar pace. “Please tell me they’re far enough away for us to get the fuck out of here.”

“They are a good distance away, Pathfinder so making your escape now would be advisable.”

The woman turned towards the crew she took and snapped, “You heard the AI! Get back inside the vehicle!”

 

Sara paused, her gaze shifting back towards the woman she certainly found interesting. She couldn’t stop the smirk from spreading across her face and tried to hide it by raising her arm. Whoever she was, she knew how to lead.

They made it back to the Tempest in one piece and the exhaustion she’d been ignoring hit Sara all at once. She wanted nothing more than a hot shower and to crawl underneath the warm covers in the Pathfinder's quarters.

“Pathfinder Ryder, I presume?” the woman asked in a gruff tone.

Sara gave her a tired smile and tried to stop herself from staring too hard at the unknown, yet very attractive woman. “That's what they tell me.” She pushed herself off the wall she leaned heavily on and stuck out a hand. “What do they call you?”

“Back in the Milky Way they called me Commander Shepard but here it's just Jane Shepard.” 

Jane took Sara's hand and shook it. She barely registered the handshake, though. Sara was trying to process that the woman standing in front of her was the Commander Shepard; savior of the Citadel and woman who single-handedly destroyed the Reapers.

“I take it you've heard of me,” Jane drawled.

Sara swallowed nervously. “Of course I have, Commander.”

“That isn’t necessary. I’m not a commander of anything anymore.” Jane’s voice trailed off at the end of her sentence, eyes focusing not on Sara but at a spot on the wall right next to her head.

She remained struck by the lack of emotion in Jane’s voice. Sara didn’t want to speculate but her presence in Andromeda could have been the same as hers. It was supposed to be a chance for a new start and so far, Andromeda hadn’t lived up to the hype. “I didn’t even know you were here, let alone awake from cryo.”

Jane let out an exhausted laugh. “Travelled here on a false name and only a handful of people knew my real identity; your father included. Ironically, I had been out of cryo only a few days when Kandros sought my help with the trouble you and your team were in.”

“Kandros probably wanted someone with experience. You did pretty much come in and save our asses,” Sara admitted. The Angara’s resources were spread thin already and the storm had kept the Tempest grounded. It made sense for Kallos to request help from the Nexus but Sara never expected it to be Commander Shepard to be that help.

“From what I've hear you can handle yourself pretty well.” Jane heaved a sigh. “I don't know about you, Pathfinder, but I want to do nothing but sleep until we get back to the Nexus. Speaking of which, I ended up using your quarters for sleep. Your crew practically insisted.”

“It's fine! I would have offered it to you, anyway.”

“Well, it's still called the Pathfinder's quarters. You're more than expected to join me.”

Sara laughed. “I have a few vid calls to make but I'll be there later. I'll try not to wake you.”

“You won't trust me,” Jane assured her before they went off in separate directions.

The first call was to Tann, the second to Addison, and the third to Kandros. In retrospect, Sara should have called Tann last. Whenever she ended a call with the Director, Sara lost all semblance of patience. Next time, she'd save his call for last.

Sara stumbled down the pathway, the exhaustion beating her down. It was the type of bone-crushing tiredness that forced Sara to grip the wall while making the short trip back to the room. “SAM, did my dad know Commander Shepard well?”

“According to Alec’s memories, he and Commander Shepard were familiar with each other. They kept in frequent contact during the last month of the Reaper war.”

She stopped at the mention of the Reaper war. The Andromeda Project remained the last hope for the Milky Way as the war raged on. Circumstances kept the ships from leaving before the war but with the damage the Reapers had caused, a prospective new galaxy seemed like a chance at new life.

Alec Ryder had long convinced his kids to join the project before the war even broke out. Sara wavered in the decision until roughly three months after Shepard stopped the Reapers and (if rumors were to believed) lived to the tale. It was then Sara finally went into cryo with Scott.

The rumors surrounding Shepard surviving the destruction of the Citadel were obviously true. Sara could only imagine the state she was found in. From their brief interaction, Sara wasn’t able to form much of an opinion except even after all she went through, the Commander still ran headfirst into danger to save a group of crewmembers she knew nothing about.

“I can only imagine how she felt waking up and finding out Andromeda isn’t filled with the golden worlds we thought it would be.”

“Predictably it may be similar to your reactions when you learned of this.”

Sara sighed. “Yeah, don’t remind me SAM.”

“Noted, Pathfinder.”

She continued her slow walk down the hall and eventually made it to the doors, which SAM was nice enough to open without Sara even needing to ask. On the couch was Jane Shepard, laying on her side with the blanket tucked in close around her body. From the expression on Jane Shepard’s face, the sleep looked anything but peaceful.

Sara was no stranger to such sleep patterns. Ever since Alec pushed the position of Pathfinder onto her, Sara’s sleep was anything but peaceful. Frequently Alec’s last moments would play in Sara’s mind whenever she closed her eyes to sleep. 

He had made a brave sacrifice, they said. All Sara could think was how much of a mistake her dad made in making her Pathfinder. Cora had all the experience needed to take up the position, not her. The tense relationship between her and Cora was better than it had been in the beginning, but Sara knew Cora remained confused by Alec’s actions. Cora and Alec shared a bond that Sara and Scott never could hope to have with him.

“I can hear you thinking from over here,” came the muffled voice of Jane Shepard.

Sara paused and stopped just a foot from the bed she longed to lay on. “Sometimes, you can literally hear me. I have a tendency to respond to SAM out loud when he is speaking to me over our private channel even if people are around.”

This drew a weak laugh from Jane Shepard. “Dr. T’Perro mentioned the connection you share with SAM. It’s quite fascinating.”

“SAM is a unique AI. It’s becoming more human every day,” Sara half joked. In retrospect, SAM seemed to be growing and had a willingness to learn about human behavior and emotions.

“I knew an AI like that back in the Milky Way. SAM sounds just like her.”

Sara was curious but did not want to press the issue. Jane’s voice remained neutral but Sara swore she could detect a hint of sadness at the end. “I apologise if my thinking woke you up. A conversation with Director Tann followed by Addison tends to make my thoughts race. Do the headaches ever go away?”

“I’ve dealt with my fair share of Tanns and Addisons,” Jane said. “Take it from someone with experience; the headaches never go away. They only dull to the point of being manageable.”

Sara chortled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Well, I'll let you get your rest, Pathfinder.”

Sara made a commentless noise at Jane’s goodnight. She finally reached her bed and all Sara could think about was getting some much needed sleep. 

The bed dipped with her sudden weight. Sara kicked off her boots, having removed her armor when earlier when they finally got back to the Tempest. 

In the darkened room, Sara struggled to kick down the blankets and crawl under them. Sara noticed the shutters had been activated and blocked out the beautiful view she had of the Andromeda galaxy. Shepard must've had her reasons and owned Sara no explanation.

Sara slept until SAM woke her up via their private channel. “Yes, SAM?” Sara mumbles out, face half buried in her pillow. “Please tell me it's something that doesn't require my attention.”

“You received an email from Director Tann. He requests your presence once the Tempest docks at the Nexus,” SAM explained. “I thought it best to warn you ahead of time, Sara, so you have time to prepare for the meeting.”

“Aw, thanks SAM. You make meeting Director Tann almost tolerable.”

“Dr. T’Perro has advised you to take measures to lower your stress levels and asked the same of me. This will only have a small impact but I am sure Dr. T’Perro will agree with my decision.”

Sara grinned. “SAM, I'd kiss you if I was able.”

“Noted, Pathfinder.”

As she got up, Sara noticed Jane watching her from the couch. She didn't know if Jane Shepard had already been awake, or if her talking woke Jane up.

“You and SAM seem to have worked out a pretty good system.” Jane commented

“SAM’s a part of me now,” Sara responded. “It was strange at first but I'm used to him now. I can also say the same for the rest of the crew really.”

A wistful expression appeared on Jane’s face but as soon as it appeared, it vanished. “Living in such close quarters tends to have that effect.”

“The Tempest could stand to be a bit bigger,” Sara admitted. “We’re all nearly falling over each other… and we have a Krogan on board.”

Jane smirked. “I know how that is. They take up a lot of room and my ship was a hell of a lot bigger than this.”

“Whatever you do, don’t tell our pilot, Kallo Jath. The Tempest is his baby.”

“Your secret is safe with me, Pathfinder,” Jane assured Sara.

Sara glanced over at the desk. “SAM, what about you?”

“I will not disclose any of this to Mr. Jath, Sara.”

She let out a sigh of relief.

~*~

The Tempest docked at the Nexus two days later. Sara reluctantly made her way to Director Tann’s office. The meeting dealt with what happened on Voeld and Sara’s take on what happened, what went wrong, and if it was successful.

She left the meeting, recalling Shepard’s offer before the Tempest docked.

“They gave me some shit apartment on the Nexus after I woke up, so if the meeting goes as well as I think it will, stop by. There’ll be shitty beer.”

It was an offer Sara couldn’t pass up. She showed up on the docks a half hour later and made her way to Jane Shepard’s apartment -- directions provided by SAM, of course. Sara had enjoyed talking with Jane over the past three days. The older woman remained guarded but began to loosen up a bit in the end.

Sara arrived to find Jane already opening the door. “How did you-- SAM warned you I was coming, didn’t he?”

“I wouldn’t say warn,” Jane joked. “It’s more like SAM informed me of an impending visit.”

“Impending? Shit, I don’t know whether to feel welcomed or not.”

Jane smirked. “Shut up and get your ass in here, Ryder. The beer is getting warm and I don’t like warm beer.”

She did not need to be told twice. Sara waltzed past Jane, eyes glancing around the apartment while making the short journey to the couch. The apartment was sparsely decorated but Shepard couldn’t have had it more than a week before she had to run off and save her ass on Voeld. Maybe now that Jane was back, she’d have time to decorate the place; make it feel more like home.

“So this is home? It isn’t so bad.” Sara took a sip of her beer, intending to drink slowly. She wasn’t as much of a lightweight like her Asari crewmembers, but Sara definitely couldn't hold her liquor. “I’m getting used to the Tempest. Sharing a bathroom? Not so much.”

“It’s okay, but it’s like I’ve been on permanent shore leave.” Jane paused to take a swig -- not a sip -- of her own beer. “The past decade of my life has been spent almost entirely on a ship. Andromeda was a chance for me to just… be.”

Sara had a question on the tip of her tongue but didn't know if it was to intrusive or not. Ultimately, Sara held the question back and just gave a slight nod of her head. “Becoming Pathfinder was not my original plan. Dad decided that one for me.”

“For someone unprepared for a leadership role, you're doing pretty damn good.” 

The praise wasn't something Sara heard often. They always expected her to be like Alec Ryder; live up to his standards and do things the way no he would have done them. Sara and her father couldn't have been more different. This was true while he was alive, and it continued to be true even in Alec’s death.

“Thanks,” Sara said. Then she paused, her former question refusing to be completely swallowed, especially since Jane, at least, appeared to be so fond of her. “I have to ask… do you want to join the Tempest? You really know how to handle yourself out there.”

Jane blinked, the corner of her mouth curving upwards. “Let's just say if I ever find myself getting really stir crazy, I'll take you up on that offer.”

After that day, Sara kept in frequent contact with Jane Shepard. As the months passed, Jane opened up little by little. She talked about her old crew and how they ultimately decided to stay in the Milky Way save for the one they called Joker. As well as the injuries sustained in the destruction of the Citadel.

Her friend remained in cryo because Jane wanted him to wake up to a world that wasn't plagued by he Kett. Sara felt like they reminded Jane of the Reapers. It was a topic they did not talk about and Sara refused to push. Whatever Jane did in the Citadel would go unknown.

Around the third month mark, Sara paid a visit to Jane Shepard. She noticed that Jane seemed a little antsy and that she clutched a small bag in her left hand.

“Jane?” Sara asked, a confused expression taking over. “Now I might be jumping to conclusions, but have you finally gone stir crazy and decided to join the Tempest?”

She laughed. “Yeah. Apparently, it's in my blood to join where the danger is the worst.”

“Well, if you're ready, we can go right now.”

“Just one thing before we go.”

The question was about to leave Sara's mouth when Jane pushed her up against the wall and kissed Sara hard. Sara felt attracted to Jane Shepard from the beginning but circumstances kept her from acting on it in any manner.

Eventually, Jane broke the kiss she started. Sara tried to hold back a noise of disappointment, but didn’t succeed. The kiss ended too soon for her liking.

Jane smirked. “I'm ready to head to the Tempest now.”

A part of Sara almost wanted to say no.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Climb Every Mountain](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13138146) by [dreamkist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamkist/pseuds/dreamkist)




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